All I Have to do is Dream
by Jess13
Summary: A late night at the SGC turns interesting for Sam … or, does it? SamDaniel pairing.


All I Have to do is Dream

Author: Jess

Rating: PG-13

Archive: Anywhere; just let me know where it's going and keep my name on it.

Summary: A late night at the SGC turns interesting for Sam … or, does it?

Subjects: Sam/Daniel romance, humor, smarm

Spoilers: None, although knowledge of S7 and S8 up to Threads is a good idea.

Season: Takes place in the future, about two years after S8

Disclaimer: I am not making any money off of this. The characters belong to MGM/Showtime, Double Secret Productions and Gekko Film Corporation, not to me. This fic is copyrighted April, 2005, and may not be used or altered without the express permission of the author.

A/N: this fic is an answer to the Stargate SG-1 and Atlantis FanFic Challenges for the week of 4/17 – 4/23/05. The rules were:

1. Sam and Daniel centric

2. Must take place in the future

3. Make it light hearted. Nothing too Angsty please

4. It can be as long as you'd like. The longer the better

5. Must include the line "Daniel, where are your pants?"

* * *

Sam's eyelids drooped as she stared at her computer screen. It was after 3 AM, and she was trying to figure out the chemical composition of an artifact that SG-15 had brought back. It was a small, gray, triangular-shaped piece of rock … or was it metal? It almost resembled a spear point of some kind, and it had small etchings on its rather smooth surface. The etchings almost reminded Sam of something like scrimshaw. 

She looked over the tests she had run and tried to make sense of the percentages … 60 percent silicate, 10 percent iron, 20 percent … naquada? She became more alert and her brow furrowed in confusion.

Suddenly, her eyelids drooped again and she uttered a loud yawn. Why was she still up? She should be home in bed by now. Granted, it hadn't been the first time she'd been up so late in her almost ten years at the SGC… actually it was just one of many times. She and Daniel would pull quite a few all-nighters – he'd be nearly tearing his hair out trying to translate something, while she'd be working through the night in her lab. They'd usually end up fraternizing over multiple cups of coffee, sharing their triumph over the discoveries they made, or their frustration at the lack thereof.

"Sam …"

Speaking of Daniel …

Sam thought she heard his voice from in her doorway, soft but urgent. She was up so late, though, and _so very tired_, that she thought she was hearing things. She let her head drift slowly down on top of her folded arms and was about to nod off…

"Sam."

There was that voice again, this time a bit more urgent. Okay, so maybe she wasn't hearing things. She snorted softly and lifted her head up, her eyes barely slits.

"Daniel, what is it?" she asked sleepily.

"I wanted to know if you're done with the artifact yet."

"Hmm? Artifact?" she asked, stifling a yawn.

He looked at her curiously before gesturing to the rock on the edge of the table – the one she'd been studying.

"Oh … uh, sorry," she said as she shook her head, attempting to clear it of the drunken tiredness.

Daniel gave her a small, affectionate smile as he made his way over to the table and picked the artifact up.

"Shouldn't you be getting some sleep?" he asked her, concerned.

Her brow knitted slightly. "What about you?" she countered.

"Oh," he said sheepishly, blushing a bit. "Well, I just want to have a quick look at the etchings on it and I'll leave the more involved stuff until tomorrow."

She nodded.

"I'm serious, Sam. You really should get some sleep. If you're too tired, I can drive you home," he insisted.

She blinked. "Really? You'd do that?"

"Now isn't that a ridiculous question," he smiled shyly. "Of course I would. You know how I care about you."

_How you care about me?_ They'd been friends for so long, and she knew that he cared about her. Why did it seem like such a big deal now?

"You really need to take it easy," he continued.

"Uh ... yeah, I guess I should. I just didn't want to …"

She trailed off as her eyes drifted downward. As exhausted and tired as she was, her eyes began to widen.

"Uh … Daniel, where are your pants?" she questioned.

Daniel's eyebrows drew together as he fixed her with a confused look.

"My what?"

"You … you're pants," she sputtered, just a bit surprised.

Daniel stared at her for a moment, and then looked down at himself. He was wearing civvies, and his plaid blue button down shirt hung slightly over his checkered boxer shorts. His legs were bare.

"Ah … yeah, that's right, I spilled some hot coffee on my pants," he said sheepishly, his cheeks growing hot.

Sam raised a curious eyebrow. "Really," she said, seemingly unconvinced. Suddenly, she didn't seem as exhausted.

"Ah … yeah," Daniel replied, not able to look her in the eyes.

Sam grinned at him knowingly. After all these years of knowing Daniel, it was easy to tell when he was lying. Why had he entered her lab with no pants on? He seemed too embarrassed to tell her. He just stared at her intently.

Sam's grin turned into a smirk and she began snickering. The snickering turned into peals of laughter as she nearly doubled over.

Daniel's cheeks flamed and his eyebrows edged upward. After all these years, he was still able to pull off the puppy dog look. Normally it made Sam cave in, but for some reason, she was quite amused by the fact that he wasn't wearing any pants. She laughed until her sides hurt and until tears came out of her eyes.

"Well, you're in no shape to drive yourself, so I'll just drive you home now," he said briskly, trying to talk above her laughter.

Sam – still laughing – nodded, picked herself up off the chair, shut the computer down, and made her way out of the lab. Daniel held onto her, as she was still laughing and was afraid she'd smack her head on the doorframe.

She laughed as Daniel led her down the corridor and toward the elevator. As they entered and began their ascent toward the surface, her laughter finally eased up.

"Aren't you going to put some pants on before we get out of here?" she asked curiously, her brow furrowing in confusion.

Daniel shrugged. "Nah. I'm just going like this," he said, perfectly serious.

Sam looked at him oddly, still in disbelief that he seemed so intent on not wearing pants. Her face cracked open in a wide smile and soon enough she was laughing again.

She laughed as they made their way to Daniel's truck, and she laughed as they exited the mountain.

"Have a good night, Doctor Jackson," the guard at the gate said.

Daniel nodded and afforded a quick glance at Sam, who was trying to calm down, but was still snickering.

"Colonel Carter?" the sergeant asked curiously.

"Ah … she had a bit too much giggle juice," Daniel smirked.

The man nodded his head in understanding and chuckled before letting them pass.

Sam laughed the whole drive back to her house. She tried to calm herself, but she'd just glance over at Daniel again – and down at his legs – and would start right in again. Daniel, on the other hand, was a bit perplexed. Sam had never really been this giddy before. He loved hearing her laugh. It was like music to him. In a way, it … aroused him.

Aroused him? Whoa.

He parked in Sam's driveway, opened the door for her and helped her out. She was still snickering, but it faded as she noticed Daniel staring at her longingly.

"Uh … do you want to come in?" she asked awkwardly.

"Yeah, sure," he said, a bit too eagerly. _Hey, not so fast; this is Sam you're dealing with. She's your best friend. You don't want to turn her off_, he thought to himself.

"Ah … I mean … okay, if it's not imposing."

"Not at all," she replied, shaking her head. She laughed softly to herself as she pulled her key out and unlocked the door.

Daniel stepped in and had a seat on the couch.

"Um … thanks for driving me home," she said, still sounding awkward.

"It's okay," he smiled at her.

She smiled back, and then her eyes unconsciously (unconsciously?) drifted down to his legs, and she broke out in laughter again.

Daniel looked at her curiously and then began laughing softly himself. The fact that he was blushing made her laugh even more.

"Sam, I have to ask you," he pleaded. "What is so funny?"

"Are you serious?" she said incredulously. "I just can't get over the fact that you've got no pants on. I mean, a guy as fastidious and, and …"

"Anal retentive?" Daniel supplied in spite of himself.

"Uh … no, no, not that!" she insisted, shaking her head furiously. "But, you know what I mean. You've just never struck me as that type of guy. I'd think you would have been embarrassed to go out in public like that." She pointed to his bare legs and snorted, unsuccessful in holding back the laughs.

"Hey, just because I'm usually a straight-laced, no nonsense type of guy, it doesn't mean that I don't like to do crazy things every now and then," he grinned playfully.

As she laughed, Sam couldn't help wondering if she was hallucinating, if this whole thing wasn't real. She reached down and pinched herself.

"What are you doing?"

She looked back up and noticed he was looking at her with raised eyebrows.

"Nothing," she sighed. "Just … this whole thing doesn't seem real to me."

"Why not?" he asked, his eyes sparkling.

"Why not?" she repeated incredulously. "Well, for one thing, you … you're not wearing any pants," she got out before laughing again. She joined him on the couch and threw her head back. She couldn't remember laughing this much, and felt as if she'd had too much to drink.

"What else?" he asked softly as he looked into her eyes.

"Well … um …" she trailed off as she looked him over. She became lost in his cerulean eyes and his handsome face. He had just a hint of five o'clock shadow, testament to how long he'd been up working on things at the SGC. The wire-framed glasses were the same ones he'd been wearing for so many years, the ones that brought out his eyes nicely. He'd let his hair grow a bit over the past year. It wasn't quite as long and shaggy as it had been when they'd first met, but nevertheless it looked good on him – and it was long enough to run the fingers through to boot. Damn, he looked good for a guy pushing 40. Like she could talk – she was already 41.

She coughed softly and her cheeks flushed.

"What were you going to say?" he nearly whispered.

She opened her mouth, but the words wouldn't come. It was like her tongue was tripping over itself, or like it had suddenly expanded in her mouth and was preventing her from speaking.

She edged closer and closer to him, all the while looking into his eyes. A tiny part of her was afraid that he'd be intimidated, but he didn't seem to be backing away. Quite the contrary, he was edging closer to her as well. She felt his soft breath on her lips as she shut her eyes and felt his lips joining hers. They kissed softly at first, and she reveled in the experience. His hands had found the back of her head and, and his fingers were snaking through her short, blonde hair. She realized it was safe for her to do the same with him, so she began running her fingers through his soft, brown hair.

Eventually, Daniel's tongue began searching through Sam's mouth, and it made her moan with pleasure. Their kiss was long and passionate, something she'd been wanting for a long, long time. Daniel had always been her friend, her companion, and her confidante. Even when he was still married to Sha're, and when she was dating Pete, she couldn't stop wondering what it would be like to kiss him; not just a sweet little kiss on the cheek, but a real, full-fledged passionate kiss. Now that the two of them were free, she was finally getting a taste of him, and it was delicious.

At some point, they eased down across the couch, and Daniel reached down to try unbuttoning Sam's shirt. He realized she was wearing her black, military issue t-shirt and frowned. Sam grinned widely, brushed some strands of hair off to the side of his face and softly kissed the frown lines in his forehead.

"Mind taking that off?" he asked impishly.

"We'll see," she replied, her blue eyes twinkling mischievously.

"You're no fun," he sighed.

Sam looked past him and noticed his bare, long legs snaked out over the arm of the couch. It reminded her of the amusing fact that he hadn't been wearing any pants. She threatened to break up in laughter again, but she didn't want to ruin the mood of the interesting turn this night had taken.

Gazing into his eyes, her face edged closer to his, and their lips met once again. As they kissed, she slowly unbuttoned the first three buttons of his shirt, exposing his chest. He wasn't as toned as he had been two and three years ago, but his chest was still quite muscular, and he was still in very good shape. He hadn't been hitting the weights as much as he used to back then. Sam blamed – or blessed, for she didn't want her darling archaeologist to be _too_ bulky – Lieutenant Stephanie Reichardt, the young woman who oversaw the gym. She'd been assigned to the SGC only about six months ago, and had developed a small crush on Daniel. The small crush turned into utter infatuation, and she'd made more than passes at Daniel. At first, he was a bit flattered, but it quickly made him uncomfortable, so he learned to avoid the gym. He did stay in shape by running and doing simple exercises like crunches in the privacy of his own apartment.

A few tiny self-doubts surfaced deep within Sam's mind. Should they be doing this? Was it wrong to become so intimate with someone she'd only considered a friend – a good, close friend, granted, but still a friend? No, certainly not as wrong as wondering, for so many years, what it would be like to kiss that friend. The feelings she had for Daniel for so long had finally become apparent to her. Now that they were both single and desiring companionship, there was no shame in what they were doing. Daniel certainly seemed to think so, as he wasn't resisting this at all.

She kicked the self-doubts out of her mind and buried them for good as they forged on. Daniel had lifted her shirt up and was planting small kisses from the crook in her neck down to the small area separating her breasts. She'd begun caressing his bare chest as he pulled her bra straps down off her shoulders.

"Oh, Daniel," she said breathlessly. "You have no idea how I've wanted this."

Daniel chuckled affectionately. "I guess you know how I feel about you now," he admitted.

Sam smiled broadly. Daniel was about to pull her bra down, and she was about to reach under the waistline of his boxers – the boxers she'd found so amusing just before – and pull them down off of him …

* * *

"Sam?"

Sam was still half asleep when she heard a familiar voice calling her. Too tired to even open her eyes, she groaned softly as a signal to that person to let her be.

"Sam?" he tried again, this time nudging her gently. Damn, he was persistent.

She snorted softly and finally forced open an eye. Her neck protested as she lifted her head. She was in her lab, and realized she'd been sleeping with her head down across her folded arms, which sat on top of the table. Her eyes drifted from her tabletop over to her right, and as her vision came more into focus, she saw Daniel standing over her, looking concerned.

"D-Daniel?" she asked. "What the … what the hell happened?"

"Don't you remember?" he asked. "You were up late trying to determine the chemical composition of the artifact that SG-15 brought back."

She quickly searched the table and her brow knitted upon no longer seeing the object there.

"I took it to my office so I could try to decipher the markings on it," he supplied, giving her a faint smile.

She looked at him with inquisitive eyes.

"You finished it," he added.

Sam nodded slowly. "Oh." She then looked at him intently.

"Something wrong?" he asked, his own brow furrowing in confusion.

"Uh … no," she said, shaking her head. She quickly looked him over. He was wearing his black t-shirt under blue BDUs. Her eyes drifted downward.

Damn. He was wearing pants.

"What time is it?" she asked him warily.

"What?" he asked, his eyebrows nearly disappearing into soft, swept back bangs. She looked at him intently and he cast a quick glance down at his watch. "Ah … it's 9:30."

Now her eyebrows looked like they were about to leap off of her forehead. "Oh, my God," she intoned. She sighed and ran a hand through her hair. She couldn't help looking at Daniel again, and as she eyed his now pant-clad legs, she smirked.

"Well, that's what I get for sleeping in," she remarked.

Daniel watched Sam curiously as she emitted something he'd hardly ever heard – a girlish giggle. The giggles turned into laughter as Daniel's eyebrows drew closer together and he frowned.

"Sam? What's so funny?" he asked quietly.

She finally noticed the confused look he was giving her, and she snapped back to reality. Her laughter faded and her face fell as she realized that the experience she had last night – while it had started out quite amusing – was something beautiful, but it was also something that had never happened.

Daniel bent down and studied her face.

"What's wrong?" he said, noticing her disappointment.

"Nothing," she sighed. "I just …" she hesitated as she looked at him. His eyes begged her to continue.

"It was just a dream I had," she elaborated.

Daniel nodded. "Was it something really powerful?"

"You might say that," she smiled. "It was the kind of dream that seems so real, that it's not really a dream at all. Then when you wake up, you realize it wasn't meant to happen."

Daniel nodded in understanding and his lips edged upward into a faint smile. "I know," he said softly, patting her on the shoulder. "I've experienced those more than I care to admit."

Sam gave him a soft smile back.

"Well, I better get going and see if I can make heads or tails out of those inscriptions," he finally said.

She nodded. Before she could say anything, he leaned over and gave her a soft kiss on the cheek. As he pulled away, he noticed her face lighting up.

"I guess you know how I feel about you now," he said quietly, giving her a genuine smile.

She looked at him curiously at first, and then her eyes widened in understanding and she chuckled softly. She grinned at him before giving him a small kiss back on the cheek. He smoothed a piece of hair behind her ear and patted her on the back before easing up and making his way out the door.

"Join me for lunch?" he asked as he turned back.

Sam smiled and nodded. "Yeah."

He smiled back, turned and then made his way down the corridor.

Sam sighed and went back to her work. So that wonderful experience had been a dream … or had it? After a while, she felt a bit chilly and searched for her BDU jacket. She found it in the corner of the couch and threw it on over her t-shirt. She was about to make her way back to the computer when something on the arm of the couch caught her eye.

It was Daniel's plaid, button down shirt.

THE END


End file.
